Elementis 1: The Heir to the Stone (34 page)

The warrior paused, looking at the forearm and the hand which controlled the Elementis. The follicles of Sorc's neck chilled as if an ice hearted woman had blown her coldness down the hairs of his back. Sorc smiled with a wild grin. He threw his  hands around the boy with an unexpected hug. Jonas didn't move for a second, letting Sorc hug the life out of him. Menace peeked up, chuckling at the awkwardness of Jonas. Spectrum nudged Goldheart and they began to laugh. Willow let out a smile. And when Jonas realised that Sorc wasn't going to let go, he hugged him back, feeling the true warmth that exuded from the beast. Everyone cheered, rising to their feet. A resounding noise of victory and freedom took control of their cheers and a long-lost feeling of happiness returned to every soul.

Amongst the commotion and laughing, Jonas hadn't even noticed Hawk's transporter coming over the trees to land. The first that he spotted it was seeing Twain running along the ramp before it had even touched the ground. He jumped down, dripping wet and bounding across towards Jonas. "What took you so long?" he shouted, running closer.

The boys embraced. It seemed hugging was now acceptable since Sorc had made it so and Jonas felt the coldness of Twain's wet hair against his neck. They pulled back from each other, laughing with uncontrollable smiles. Jonas kept his arms stretched out, holding onto Twain's shoulders. "I'm wondering Twain, what colour room do you want in the palace?"

Twain looked at him as if he was teasing him with some new and warped sense of humour, "The palace is gone, Jonas!" he reminded him.

Jonas kept a hold of his shoulders, shaking him lightly. "Close your eyes," he said to his young friend. Twain had a curious wonder glinting in his eyes, but did as Jonas said and closed them.

"Go ahead," said Jonas, no sooner as he'd closed them. "Open them!"

Twain opened his eyelids. He and Jonas stood in the same place and in the same time but as if they had been frozen for more than a hundred seasons of snow and warmth. The dirt of the battlefield was now mature lush grass beneath their feet. A field of red and yellow flowers swayed in the stillness of the survivors eyes. And where the wreckage of Mercron had laid smoking in burning metal just moments before, it was now a hill of striking green, rolling up above the height of the trees.

"Come on, let me show you!" Jonas called out, running towards the footslope of the hill.

Twain didn't hesitate. He ran. Spectrum, Willow, Menace and Goldheart looked at each other and hurried after them. Mak and Qotu shared a look. Mak shoved Lynk onto his shoulders and ran on after the others. One by one, the cythereans, airqians, amepes, kulks, lidens, firgo, lukrans, adens, waricos and every other race present followed Jonas up the hill.

Jonas stopped at the top and turned around to look to the distance. Twain came by his side, turning his head to see. The others arrived and joined in looking across the top of the forest. No one said a word, it was too beautiful. Every building in the city of Enterra was gleaming, as new as the day they had been built by the hands of the cythereans. The dome of the headquarters sat surrounded by the glass sky scrapers which had been shattered by the Zohr's mind. The palace stretched along the contours of the trees, and just one thing was different. There was no wall between the city and the forest. Everyone breathed a sweet breath of freedom, and life had been returned to the people of Aquilla.

Twain couldn't take his eyes away from the city. "You know your father would kill you for this!" he whispered.

"I know," said Jonas, containing his smile in respect for his father's death.

"The stone must be destroyed!" Jonas proclaimed. "No one should have this power!"

Twain took in Jonas's words for a moment, he knew that Jonas was morally right but in the hands of the new king, in the hands of Jonas. They could now put a stop to any and all evil in the universe. The young genius thought back to all that he knew of the stone, Jonas himself had told him that Witakker spoke of a legend that tells the stone can only be destroyed by the stone itself. Witakker had further warned him that doing so will almost certainly kill the thought bearer and may even end the universe as they know it.

"So how will we destroy it?" Twain asked.

"We'll find a way Twain," said Jonas. "We must find a way!"

*

High up, and standing on the swaying branch of a tree, Calyx's eyes glistened as he watched his brother become everything that he was supposed to be.

THE END… IS JUST THE BEGINNING…